Friday, June 12, 2009

France -- Mirande Festival Coming Up

Line dancing at Equiblues, 2004. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

A posting I saw on the web reminds me that the Mirande Country Music Festival in southwest France is coming up July 9-14. It attracts more than 160,000 people to a mix of country, rock, Celtic and other music and crowdwise, it is probably the biggest country festival in Europe. In addition to the music, there are stands, games, line-dancing and you name it.

Among the line up is Roch Voisine, Cock Robin, Michelle Wright, Ricky Norton, Mike Sanchez and Hillbilly Boggiemen

The festival takes place over France's 14th July National Holiday - Bastille Day. This is the biggest festival of the French year, so you'll be treated to a massive fireworks display anda big party atmosphere.

The town of Mirande hosts the festival each year. Mirande is a beautiful medieval town in the Gascony region of France. A region famed for its food and scenery. This is an unspoilt area of rural France with a timeless quality of life, there is little traffic so driving is a joy amidst the beautiful ever-changing scenery.

Welcome to the Imaginary Wild West

For several years I've been exploring the imaginary wild west in contemporary Europe -- observing and experiencing the many ways that Europeans embrace the mythology of the American Frontier to enhance, imbue or create their own identities. (Or, indeed, just have fun.) On this blog I will post pictures, stories and links relating to this multi-faceted subculture, from European country music to rodeos, theme parks, round-ups and saloons....

About Me

I'm an American writer, photographer, and public speaker long based in Europe. I've chronicled Jewish cultural developments and other contemporary European Jewish issues for more than 20 years. My latest books are "National Geographic Jewish Heritage Travel: A Guide to Eastern Europe," published in 2007, and "Letters from Europe (and Elsewhere)," published in 2008.
I also am working on "Sturm, Twang and Sauerkraut Cowboys: Imaginary Wild Wests in Contemporary Europe," an exploration of the American West in the European imagination for which I won a 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship and an NEH summer stipend grant.